


Home Tea

by MDCBD



Series: IronStrange Drabbles & Short stories [7]
Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Body Horror, Broken Bones, Dark Tony Stark, Horror, Hurt Stephen Strange, Idk about the domestic but since they live in the same home..., Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, It's non-con if you don't want to be touched but are coerced into accepting it, Kidnapping, M/M, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Non-Consensual Kissing, Non-Consensual Touching, Not Canon Compliant, Protective Tony Stark, Stockholm Syndrome, Tags Contain Spoilers, Tea, Tony Stark Has Issues, or the beginning of it at least
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-23
Updated: 2019-10-23
Packaged: 2020-12-31 14:33:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21147296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MDCBD/pseuds/MDCBD
Summary: "Hey,"  he whispered softly when Stephen's eyes fluttered open. For a moment, they looked around in confusion, then surprise, as he realized who had woken him up, before settling down in the fond expression Tony so liked to see."Hey yourself," whispered the man. His voice was a bit hoarse, perhaps from sleep, or a cold, who knew. Despite the fact that he never left the appartement, he had a tendency to get himself sick like no one else, and Tony often had to keep him at home so he wouldn’t hurt himself accidentally due to a fever.Tony got up, petting Stephen's hair quietly to try to arrange them a bit. The man leaned into his touch like an affection-starved kitten, making Tony's eyes twinkle and his heart swell with love.What he wouldn't do for this man to never leave him."I'm going to make you some tea," Tony told him as he went back to the kitchen where the water was now boiling.





	Home Tea

**Author's Note:**

  * For [babywarg (morphaileffect)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/morphaileffect/gifts).

> Read the tags everyone ! Mind the warnings, and all that. ;D
> 
> I'd like to thank Last_Sacrifice25, who accepted to be my beta on this project, and helped me make many things clearer, amongst other things. ***Throws confetti***
> 
> So, Babywarg. As promised, here's your **[Spoiler]!** Ironstrange story, it took me a bit more time than I thought it would, mainly because it started out as something else entirely that went almost to 4k before I realized I didn't really know what to do with it (nor did I like it much), so I deleted everything and wrote something else in one day, then poked at Last to help me edit it and tell me where it wasn't clear (hint : in lots of places). xD
> 
> Enjoy the ride !

Tony was searching for his keys in his pocket, rummaging through his long winter coat with one hand and holding a grocery bag with the other. As he closed the door behind him, he was immediately welcomed by the warm temperature of his home, and got out of his outside clothes with a sigh. It was good to be home. Like every time when he entered his apartment, Tony went to his living room, where only a stray ray of light was permitted in through the curtains, small specks of dust floating.

There, lying on the couch, was the most important being in the world, Stephen Strange, the love of his life. He was lying on the grey two-seater couch with his propped-up head on the armchair lolling slightly toward the light. His expression was totally relaxed, his whole face slack and his mouth parted from sleep. He had a big deep blue blanket covering most of his legs and clutched lightly in his hands. The whole position screamed home and comfort to Tony, which warmed his heart and calmed his nerves.

It was like looking at a dream come true, Tony thought. All his efforts were not in vain.

He went to put the bag in the kitchen, looking at Stephen's still sleeping form as he set to prepare him some nice tea with the groceries he bought. Setting the water to boil, he went back to Stephen and leaned in to press a tender kiss on his forehead, instantly waking the man from his slumber.

"Hey," he whispered softly when Stephen's eyes fluttered open. For a moment, they looked around in confusion, then surprise, as he realized who had woken him up, before settling down in the fond expression Tony so liked to see.

"Hey yourself," whispered the man. His voice was a bit hoarse, perhaps from sleep, or a cold, who knew. Despite the fact that he never left the apartment, he had a tendency to get himself sick like no one else, and Tony often had to keep him at home so he wouldn’t hurt himself accidentally due to a fever.

Tony got up, petting Stephen's hair quietly to try to arrange them a bit. The man leaned into his touch like an affection-starved kitten, making Tony's eyes twinkle and his heart swell with love.

What he wouldn't do for this man to never leave him.

"I'm going to make you some tea," Tony told him as he went back to the kitchen where the water was now boiling. He opened the cupboard with his tea and took a plastic cup. All the while doing this, he was keeping an eye on Stephen, who had slowly maneuvered himself into a sitting position to face him more properly. When their eyes met, Stephen smiled gingerly at him, and Tony huffed good-heartedly. He knew Tony prefered to help him get into position, as it was a real effort to do so by himself usually, but he would let that one slide.

He heard the sound of Stephen clearing his throat, before his sleepy voice traveled across the room. "How was your day, Tony?"

Did he say how much he loved the man? Always worrying for him, it was adorable.

"Perfect, now that I'm here," he answered easily, walking around the island to his grocery bag.

He heard a faint chuckle, and turned around with a box of pills in his hand. "What?" He asked, still happy but his tone slightly defensive.

"Nothing," Stephen shook his head several times, then groaned as it probably made his vision spin. "It's just... I would have never thought that you..." he trailed off, looking at nothing.

Tony came into the living room with his drugged tea and put it into Stephen's hands, holding them together for him. The man's attention snapped to him, his sky blue eyes wide onto his muddy brown ones. Tony smiled and hummed encouragingly, still not looking away. "That I what?" he asked softly.

Stephen swallowed, his adam’s apple bulging through his neck. His eyes seemed to be unable to look away from his, going from one eye to another. Seeing this, Tony gently took the tea away from him, sliding his hands along Stephen's collarbone until they rested at the back of his neck, brushing the dark strands of hair that were slightly too long, and slowly brought them together.

The kiss was very slow, Tony would qualify it as loving. He took his time to work Stephen's lips open, not wanting to overwhelm the tired man. But little by little, his hands went from his neck to his shoulders, creeping down to his back where Tony started lifting his large sweatshirt. Stephen made an indescriptible noise, but it didn't sound like a noise of protest, so Tony kept going, caressing his back with tender and loving strokes. His mind felt positively fuzzy with the warmth of the love he felt for Stephen at this moment. He would do anything to make the man as happy as possible, with him.

When his hands started travelling further down however, he felt the body in his arms shiver, and salt exploded on his tongue. He leaned back a little, his overwhelming affection and love dampened by worry.

"What is it?", he murmured, stroking the man's daunt face with large fingers and moving stray strands of hair away from his beautiful eyes. Stephen's expression looked positively upset, and perhaps something more that he could not identify, his eyes were watery and shiny lips were trembling, cheeks a light tint of pink. Tony's hands went from his face to his arms, rubbing them in what he hoped was a comforting motion. His mind wandered to how they seemed to be slightly thinner than he remembered, and he latched onto that thought.

"Have you lost some weight recently?"

Stephen froze, his eyes growing even larger than they had earlier. He seems to be at a loss of words, but Tony kept a patient and, hopefully, open expression, still rubbing his arms. "Yeah?"

"I... It's just that..." Stephen was fumbling with his words, trying to avoid looking at Tony, but he would have none of that, and tilted his face toward him with calm fingers, pressing him with his eyes to explain.

Stephen's mouth opened and closed without making a sound, then finally he said, "I just... kind of neglected sports, since my injury." The words were quiet, shy, almost afraid. Tony was used to it by now, but he sometimes wished that Stephen had more confidence with him.

Still, "your injury?' he asked with confusion. Stephen froze once more, his eyes widening almost comically. Tony absently wondered if they could fall from his sockets with how wide they were, but most importantly, he was worried, and perhaps a bit angry, that Stephen had injured himself and not told him. "What injury," he demanded, a bit of harshness in his voice. Suddenly, Tony was not so happy anymore, and he wondered what could have happened to this man he spend so much time trying to protect, whether he did it by himself, because Tony left him alone, or perhaps someone else came in, tried to take him away from Tony and he had to defend himself-

His thoughts were all stopped when Stephen spoke again, his voice a whisper. Tony barely heard him, he had to ask him to speak up again.

"... You're hurting me, Tony."

With alarm, Tony realized that, lost in his spiralling, dark thoughts, he had not even noticed how his grip on Stephen’s arms had gone from loving and comforting to harsh and almost punishing, as if he was making Stephen pay for giving his mind those ideas in the first place. He didn't mean to, however, he would never hurt him if he had the choice. Tony apologized profusely to Stephen showering him with small kisses and ‘sorry’s. Stephen nodded, a small thing but Tony felt relief flooding his veins, replacing his worried thoughts.

"I hurt myself the last time I tried…” a fleeting glance at him, then to the door, “exercising," Stephen finally admitted after a bit of coaxing. Tony hummed, _exercising_ his mind repeated hollowly, the word echoing into nothing. Stephen’s head was now faced downwards, hanging in shame, and his hair hiding his face from Tony. He brushed the strands away as he assured him that he had nothing to feel ashamed for, all the while thinking that perhaps he should shorten them a bit. He never wanted for Stephen's face to be hidden from him, he wanted to see all his emotions displayed on him, to be able to read him like an open book. The idea made his chest feel warm, and with renewed gentleness, he asked where Stephen was hurt.

A shaking finger was pointed toward where his legs were still covered with the big blue blanket. Tony had taken extra precaution to not sit on it, as he usually did, and slowly peeled the cover away to reveal the rest of Stephen's body. Just like his sweatshirt, the pants he was wearing were very large, and of a neutral color. It had been his main concern as he bought them, easy to take off, warm, and comfortable. He had hoped that Stephen would wear them thinking about him. He was also wearing thick grey socks, not too hot, but definitely not cold. Everything he wanted for him.

"I'm going to take your pants off, okay? You tell me if I need to stop."

Stephen nodded, still looking anywhere but at Tony. He still lifted his hips slightly though, giving Tony an easier way to get them off. Carefully, he took his time to unravel them, and once Stephen was only down to his underwear, socks and sweatshirt, Tony sat back to look at the other man's body.

One thing he could confirm was that he had indeed lost weight. Although Stephen had always been tall and lean, whereas Tony was tall but stocky, he still had some muscle mass that was pleasant to look at. Tony had always enjoyed watching Stephen, admiring him from afar, and never able to touch - not in the way that he was now, thankfully. Those muscles seemed to have now mostly disappeared, though it was hard to tell with the large colorful bruises adorning Stephen's legs, but Tony had observed the evolution of Stephen's body - though not enough, apparently -, and he knew what part was swelling and what part was muscle mass. He passed his hands over the familiar splotches of color, noticing in the corner of his eyes how Stephen stiffened when he touched him, then slowly relaxed. The memory of how Stephen had lashed out at him the first time he had realized what had been done to his legs floated close to the front of his mind. But the trust that was placed on him now, the fact that Stephen believed Tony wouldn’t hurt him anymore, intentionally or not, made him smile, and he couldn't resist the temptation of kissing Stephen's legs as a reward for it.

Stephen flinched, then looked at him with weary eyes that slowly settled into something more calm but bore a hint of sadness, as they did every time Tony had checked up on the broken, useless and bruised legs. In the beginning, it had been worse, Tony recalled faintly, there had been screaming, tears, threats, insults, and blame. The blame had hurt the most, he thought, slowly passing his hands on each and every bump of broken bones and swollen skin and muscles in the limp limbs, Tony had only ever done his best to protect Stephen. Even their fight had hurt less, despite Tony still having a scar on his chest - near his heart - from when a hysterical Stephen had tried to harm him with with a shard from his broken teacup. He had made sure that incidents like these would not happen by switching to plastic ones.

Seeing that nothing was amiss, as he told Stephen, he took off the socks, finally revealing what looked like to be the infamous injury. Stephen’s ankle was a bit stiff, and he found that it was a bit swollen. Probably just twisted, he thought. Nothing that rest, a bag of ice and his medicated tea wouldn't heal. He told Stephen so, who looked relieved for a second, before his gaze came down again on his legs, and his eyes went dull, losing that spark that had made Tony fall in love with him in the first place.

"What is it?" he asked. Tony was tempted to pull the blanket up, and give Stephen a hug, since he knew the man was always a bit more more sensitive when his legs were mentioned. The last time he had examined them, he had outright started crying. Tony knew Stephen was a proud man, though he always seemed a bit more vulnerable with him. And even though Tony always felt bad when he was saw him cry, he was glad that it was in him that Stephen was seeking comfort.

Stephen shook his head, his mid-long hair flailing a bit. He would definitely cut it, perhaps tomorrow, as a gift for his bravery today? Yes, he'd have to think about it. But now, he could only see the unshed tears in Stephen's beautiful eyes, and think about how badly he wanted to kiss those away. Stephen was always a bit put off by his displays of affection after an examination though, especially kisses, but hugs were fine, so he hugged the other man.

Just like last time, he started sniffing as soon as the shock from finding himself in Tony's arms faded. He hoped that one day, there would be no shock at all, that they would be able to hug freely, kiss, hold hands and who knows, perhaps even more. But they were not there yet.

All those thoughts were playing in the background of his mind though, most of his attention was concentrated on the crying man in his arms, shaking, breaking down and only for him alone to pick up. He rubbed his back and caressed his hair, whispering to him how much he loved him and how he was doing amazing and would probably be able to walk again by Tony's side. The last one made him cry even more, and knowing that Stephen longed to be able to be closer to him made his heart swell and his eyes tickle.

He didn't cry, unlike Stephen, but it was a close call, and he was the only clear-minded one out of the two of them. He slowly untangled himself from Stephen, who didn’t put up much resistance. Because of the tea, the poor man was always drained just barely by being awake. Even though it was supposed to help with the pain and keep him calm, it also had the effect that emotional stress left him too tired to spend more time with Tony or react much to anything

But Tony had no other choice. He knew it was good for Stephen.

"I'm going to get you your tea, okay? You have to drink it, otherwise your legs will hurt, and you'll be... irritated," Tony told him as he helped him lay down on the couch once more. Ever since Stephen almost fell down the stairs, Tony didn't try to take him up to the bedroom anymore. And Stephen slept much more peacefully on the couch than in his bed, where Tony could hug him. He had mentioned that it was due to excessive body heat, but since Stephen loved the heat, Tony had just assumed it was because he was not yet ready to go this far with him.

And Tony understood, he was impatient for more, but not the point where he would hurt Stephen unnecessarily. So the couch it was.

He got the cup of tea, which had slightly cooled down; but was still hot to the touch. Stephen made hand gestures toward it, and Tony remembered a time when he had to force-feed him the medicine. But the stubborn idiot had quickly understood that Tony only wanted to help, and now was always eager for the beverage.

All the while he sipped, eyes slowly closing as fatigue claimed him, Tony stroked his hair, murmuring to him about future plans, like he always did when Stephen was about to fall asleep. A promise in the dark, his secret desires, how he wanted them to never be separated nor hurting each other again. Like a prayer to a sleeping god, he whispered them all to Stephen every evening, hoping that at some point in the future, those dreams would be shared and Stephen would answer his questions with a 'me too.'

Once Stephen was fully asleep, Tony took the cup from him, rinsing everything, wiping the counter and locking every cabinet, cupboard and drawer. Then he locked the door and the windows, closed down everything, only leaving the stray ray of sunshine from the glowing city below to guard Stephen's sleep, illuminating his sleeping form. Tony's very own Sleeping Beauty.

Even though he was not exactly the perfect knight, Tony thought as he deposited a light kiss on Stephen's slack lips, then went up the stairs to his bedroom.

No, Stephen from before would have said Tony was more like the dragon keeping the princess locked up.

Or safe, as he thought so himself. And someday, Stephen would agree with him.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey~
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this little thing !
> 
> If there is anything you did not understand, don't hesitate to ask ! :D
> 
> ~
> 
> Fill for my Stephen Strange 2019 Bingo square _"Fragile"_.
> 
> ** [Said bingo card.](https://mdcbd.tumblr.com/post/188542179507/home-tea-mdcbd-marvel-cinematic-universe) **
> 
> Fill for my IronStrange 2019 Bingo square _"Whump"_.
> 
> ** [Said bingo card.](https://mdcbd.tumblr.com/post/188542421832/home-tea-mdcbd-marvel-cinematic-universe) **


End file.
